Like some of the other posters, I was in this situation a little while ago. My previous laptop was a Thinkpad x60s and I loved it. 12 inch screen and 8 hours of battery life. The thing was killer for it's time and it took me 4 years to even consider a new one. I also looked at the Dell XPS 13, but with my options it quickly jumped to around $2,500. Seemed a bit much. I'd buy another Thinkpad at that price.

Anyway, after some looking, I came across the newer ASUS U Series. Come in a number of different sizes, and for US customers, one of the best warranties you can get. 1 year accidental, 2 year global, and 3 year parts and labor. I ended up with the UL80Vt. 4GB DDR3 memory, a 1.3ghz SU7300, which ASUS overclocks to 1.7ghz, it's a 14 inch screen and under 5 pounds. I'm delighted with it.

The only cons of the notebook are the resolution and touchpad. The monitor is 1366x768. Weak, but not nearly unbearable. The touchpad is also over-sensitive and even on it's max settings still picks up brushes a little too lightly.

The things that really makes this package for me though are the battery life and the video card. Battery life on low-power mode is 8ish hours being used. Plenty of time to take to class. and do notes and the like. It's genuinely 8 hours. That really impressed me. However, it has 2 video cards, an integrated intel card and a dedicated GDDR3 512MB 210M that it can dynamically switch on or off to save power. Screen goes black for a second during the switch, but hardly a problem. In gaming mode this thing still gets 2 hours of battery and currently I've been able to play Left 4 Dead 2 on full settings without a even a twitch.

While it's an inch bigger than I wanted, it's packed with everything else. I'm glad I bought it and for a price point of under $850 it's one hell of a value. I'd highly recommend it for anyone.

WINNAR IS NOT ME! ... Oh wait... damn... Would be brilliant though!

Winning is for losers.

Edit: Our versions have 4GB of RAM and 320GB HDDs.

I work at a Staples store and while we haven't put them on display yet, I'm pretty sure we have 2 of these sitting in our back room. I looked at the specs the other day and thought it was amazing until I read the processor line. How ever, the box does suggest an 8 hour battery life. Seems to make a laptop suddenly more productive all over again. That being said, my Lenovo X60s with an extended battery could get 8 hours 3 years ago.

"Stelios: It is an honor to die at your side."
"Leonidas: It is an honor to have lived at yours."

Cheesy, but damn a good scene.

I think there needs to be an Engadget robot naming contest. I offer the EnBot and Engadge-o-bot as the first two entries.

Definitely a Wii.